


Piper of the Swarm

by TheGrimmScribe (orphan_account)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Character Interpretation, Alternate Universe - Once Upon a Time Fusion, Dark Fantasy, Dark One Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Family Drama, Gen, Kidnapping, Literary References & Allusions, Peter Pan References, Peter Pan | Malcolm Being an Asshole, References to Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23544586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/TheGrimmScribe
Summary: Prequel toIsland of Dreams.All fathers grow up. Except one.Rumple encounters an old enemy during his tranquil evening in an English village. The enemy is none other than the one man who left him behind as a child and renounced his maturity in order to be forever young.
Relationships: Peter Pan | Malcolm & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Kudos: 7





	Piper of the Swarm

**Author's Note:**

> **In celebration of my sixth work that has nothing to do with Rapunzel or my alternative _Tangled_ canon, I have crafted a tale that gives further insight into the Crocodile's backstory and his hatred towards his abusive father, the immortal trickster-turned-warlord known as Pan.**

**_The Land Without Magic_ **

**_England, United Kingdom_ **

**_October, 1813_ **

The Crocodile sat on top of the roof of one of the public houses in an English village, looking down at the empty streets below. The immortal trickster known as the Dark One had traveled many times throughout the Land Without Magic and witnessed its many wonders. There was no place like England. He loved everything about the country. The food. The culture. The alcoholic beverages. What he did not enjoy were the scornful looks the townsfolk gave to him whenever he walked through the streets. They didn’t see him as a person. They saw him as a villain who spun straw into gold and kidnapped babies as part of foolhardy bargains that desperate souls struck with him. 

“All magic comes with a price,” Rumple chuckled to himself.

The faint sound of a darkly enchanting melody broke the silence of the evening. It sounded almost like a flute. Panpipes, to be specific. He wondered who the player was. The Crocodile watched in surprise as groups of young and older boys climbed out of their windows and exited through the doors of their homes. They should have been sound asleep in bed. What were they doing up so late at night? Their parents would be worried about them. As the boys formed into a parade that walked through the streets of the village, the flute’s melody became louder. Rumple could not believe what he was seeing. The player of the flute, a teenage piper dressed in Lincoln green and a hooded cloak of pied fabric, was entrancing his victims with his music. He knew who this Pied Piper was. He wasn’t even a real teenage boy. He was an old man in a child’s body. 

“Pan.” 

The sound of his father’s name made Rumple’s blood boil and his rage ignite. The son of the original Piper, Peter Malcom Pan wanted nothing more than to follow in his father’s footsteps. He had given up on his relationship with his son in exchange for the gifts of flight, eternal youth, and a long life. He never wanted to be a man. He wished to be a boy forever. The Crocodile jumped down from the roof and landed on the street like the badass anti-hero in a superhero film. He looked up at the Piper. Pan smirked at his disowned son. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Dark One.”

“Hello, Papa,” the Crocodile said.

“Have you come to join in on the fun?” 

“Not if your idea of fun involves stealing children from their parents,” Rumple snapped.

“It’s not kidnapping. I’m taking these boys to a special place. My home. An island kingdom where dreams are born and time is never planned. I’m the King of the Lost Boys. They are my subjects.” 

Rumple snatched the pan pipes from his father and broke them in half over his knee. 

“Bad form!” Pan shouted. 

Grabbing Pan by the throat, the Crocodile stared into his father’s eyes, snapping at him in a reptilian fashion.

“I’ll give you bad form, you immature son of a fairy! Why are you kidnapping these children?”

“I’m quite lonely back in Neverland,” Pan replied.

“Lonely? That’s your excuse?”

“It’s not easy being the monarch of an enchanted island inhabited by pirates, fairies, and mythical creatures when you’re surrounded by slaves and the corpses of brown-skinned savages. The only youngsters who visit are the one who come to me in their dreams. Maybe, one day, I might entice a little lady to join me among the ranks of these fine gentlemen. I’ve always yearned for female companionship.” 

“Why do you think that any young woman would want to be the companion of a monster who commits genocide against Polynesian warriors?” the Crocodile retorted. 

“I am doing God’s duty.” 

“A demon speaking of God? How ironic.”

“I am named after Saint Peter, after all. If He created this world so that the pure-blooded could survive, then His creations wouldn’t have included the impure.” 

“The only impure creature that I see is the one invading my personal space.”

“Shut up!” Pan shouted at his son, pushing Rumple away from him

The Crocodile sighed, glaring at his father. He had always despised him. Pan felt the same way about his son ever since the day he was born. They loathed each other just like how Pan loathed the Dark Fairies and Pacific Islanders who inhabited Neverland. Not unlike Rumple, the indigenous inhabitants of Neverland stood in the way of Pan’s monarchy, and he had attempted many times to eradicate them. They always came back from the dead. They never gave up on fighting their false monarch. 

“I wonder if Maleficent knows about your misbehavior?” Rumple asked.

“The Mistress of Evil is no longer the rule of Neverland. I am. Her ungodly species is an abomination. Just like those savages.”

“You are dangerously close to making me extremely angry.”

“Do you think that I give a damn about your feelings? You are nothing to me. You are just a sadly, lonely, lost little boy who grew up and became a cowardly sorcerer in serious need of lovely thoughts.”

“You haven’t got a single clue about who you’re talking to,” Rumple snarled. 

“Cheer up, Rumple.” 

“Nobody tells me what to do,” the Crocodile snapped.

“Think of the loveliest thoughts. Any lovely little thought.”

“Like the thought of your head on a platter?”

Pan gave the middle finger to his son. His behavior was not surprising to Rumple. His father had always been an immature piece of shit who was drunk and high on his own abuse of power. 

“You know the story of my father? The original Pied Piper?” Pan asked.

“I know him well. He was paid to rid the town of Hamelin of the rats that plagued the townsfolk. To see the townsfolk suffer so from vermin was a pity, so he used his magical panpipes to lure them to a river and drown them. When the mayor refused to pay him the price he asked for, the Piper took revenge, kidnapping the children of the town and taking them into the woods where he slaughtered each and every one of them.”

“A beautiful story, isn’t it?” Pan laughed.

“What does this have to do with your scheme?” Rumple demanded.

“These children are street rats. They hate their families and their siblings. Some of them are homeless. I am taking them back to Neverland with me so they can have all the fun they desire. There will be hunting, feasting, games, and more for them to enjoy.”

“Do you think they’ll be happy with you as their leader?”  
  


“I hope so. Peter Pan never fails.”

Pan smirked at his son. That cocky smirk was his signature facial expression. The smirk irritated Rumple with its false triumph. 

“Alright, Lost Boys! Are you ready to take flight?” Pan cried out to his followers.

The boys nodded. Opening a burlap bag that was worn around the belt of his green tunic, Pan walked up to each of the children and blew fairy dust into their faces. Their feet left the ground as their minds became filled with nothing but lovely thoughts. The Crocodile watched while Pan and the boys flew off toward the sky, sailing on the wings of wishful thinking to the second star to the right, where the island come true was waiting for them. 


End file.
